


Coming Out Party

by Struggly_Penguin



Series: Domestic Stony [1]
Category: Deadpool - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Biphobia, Bisexual Tony, Coming Out, Domestic Avengers, Established Relationship, Gay Steve, Happy Ending, Irondad, Kid Fic, Light Angst, M/M, Superhusbands, Trans Peter, Trans Peter Parker, Transphobia, accidental misgendering, spiderson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-12 01:14:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19121593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Struggly_Penguin/pseuds/Struggly_Penguin
Summary: Peter started by telling Ned.  Then he came out to Steve.  By the time he got around to telling his dad, it felt like second nature.Tl;dr Peter comes out as trans





	1. The Dads

“Ned, I think I’ve got a new name.” 

Ned looked up from his lunch tray to see his friend. Since coming out as trans, Maria had lost weight, obvious now from the loose hem of his sweater he was fiddling with. “Well, sit down. What’s this grand name, huh? I have to make sure it’s good enough for my best friend.”

“It’s Peter.” Peter paused while the hint of a smile crept onto his face. “I like Peter. And, you know, I said I’d come out to my parents once I had a new name, so that’s today, especially since Morgan is with Aunt May tonight.”

“Peter,” Ned said, testing the sound. “I like it; it suits you.” Ned’s focus fell back to his lunch tray before he realized that Peter still hadn’t sat down. “What’s the matter, dude? Now you get to tell your dads and they throw you a big coming out party or whatever. I mean, how weird can they be about it? They’re gay after all.”

Peter let out a big sigh. “Ned…” he began, but let his sentence trail off. A few moments passed, filled with the noise of the cafeteria. “It’s just…” Peter tried again, “sometimes… like it’s different for trans kids, you know? And I’ve read all these horror stories online. And like what if they kick me out or something? Where would I even go?” 

Peter looked at Ned with clear distress in his eyes. Ned hated to think of it, but it reminded him of those months ago when Peter first came out to him, teary eyed and certain that Ned would hate him. “Well, for one thing, your dads would never do that. And even if they did, you’d stay with me. But,” Ned continued seeing the argument on Peter’s face, “you can tell your dads first, and if they do kick you out, which they won’t, you can just move in with your mom. There, problem solved.”

The clouds started to clear from Peter’s face, the glimmer of hope returning. “Yeah, Ned, that’s a great idea.”

But things hadn’t been so simple. Between Peter leaving school for the day and Steve getting home, Peter had begun to worry again. He ended up crying on the living room couch before anyone else even got home.

"Maria, where are you? I got pizza." Steve walked into the living room of the penthouse. 

On the couch, Peter was curled up in the fetal position crying into the cushions. Noticing his step-dad walking into the room, Peter tried to sit up and wipe off his face. "Hey, Steve," replied the shaky voice.

"Oh, sweetheart, what happened?" Steve hadn't seen Peter this upset in a long time, but he'd noticed him isolating himself more and more recently. He’d also noticed the weight loss, but Tony hadn’t thought it was a problem when Steve mentioned it. “She’ll come to us when she’s ready, Steve,” was the only answer he gave.

"Was it that boy?" Steve asked as gently as he could.

"No, it wasn't Wade." Peter paused to sniffle and wipe at his eyes. 

Steve noticed the flash in Peter’s eyes that meant he was about to bolt. Not wanting to risk him running off, Steve set the pizza on the coffee table before sitting down next to Peter on the couch. “Oh, Maria, tell me what’s wrong.” Idly stroking Peter’s hair, Steve waited for him to be ready.

Five minutes of quiet sniffling later, Peter looked into Steve’s eyes and firmly said “I’d prefer to be called Peter.” Following this request, Peter starred intensely at his own feet, seemingly startled by his own confession. “I’m trans,” he muttered, still not making eye contact. 

When Steve didn’t start talking immediately, Peter began to fidget, and continued, “like I’m a boy… not a girl.”  
Finally catching up to what Peter said, Steve rushed to comfort him. “I always love you, I hope you know that. How long have you been thinking this?” Taking only a short pause Steve began speaking again. “Wait, no, you don’t have to answer that. It wasn’t supposed to be an accusation. I don’t really know what to say, so I’ll stop.” While Steve rambled, he stroked Peter’s hair gently. 

“It’s been a couple months, Steve. After we went to that party and met Loki.” Peter’s sniffles tapered off, and he shifted to lean more of his weight on Steve, who was still running fingers through his hair.

“That’s… an awful long time to deal with something like this alone.” Steve was shocked he hadn’t noticed something was going on sooner. “Have you told your dad, yet? Are you planning to?” Steve thought of the outsized reaction Tony would have. He’d been discussing throwing a coming out party for a few months – this would surely encourage those plans further.

“I haven’t told him yet. I was going to let fate decide who I told first.” Peter’s whole body had relaxed with Steve’s comfort.

“Well, Tony should be home soon. I hope you weren’t too nervous about telling us. We’ll always love and support you, Peter.” Steve felt the beginnings of guilt flow through him. “Did I ever tell you about the first few times we hung out?” Peter shook his head no and settled in, Steve’s stories were always the best. “It was before your dad and I started hanging out more. Heck, I think it was even before your mom and dad got divorced. Anyway, your parents were fighting, and you found your way into my office looking for someone to play with. You came in and sat with me while I planned mission schematics and team strategies. I think you thought it was a game. And I was so nervous. I had no idea what to do with a kid, but you just kept coming down. Anytime your parents were arguing in the penthouse, you’d sneak down into my office to ask about line ups and why Bruce couldn’t always be hulked-out.” 

Steve took a pause to check on Peter. His eyes were drifting shut and all of the remaining tension was dissipating. Steve smiled, glad he could still help his kid relax, even now. “Then things started to change, your parents got divorced and your dad and I started dating. And I was all nerves again. I never thought I’d have kids. Hell, I still don’t know how to be a father. My dad, he would beat the crap out of my ma, and if I ever happened to see, he’d tell me that he was ‘teaching me how to handle a lady’.” Steve immediately regretted giving this bit of information when Peter seized up against his side. But he continued, “so, when I knew things were going to get serious with your dad, I read every parenting book I could get my hands on. Your dad laughed at me for it, but they’ve really helped. You were such a sweet kid, and I was so scared I was gonna mess you up. I mean, it couldn’t have been easy growing up with Iron Man for a dad and Captain America as your step-dad.” Peter started to gently snore against Steve’s shoulder. Steve was glad that he’d finally gotten Peter to sleep, the dark circles around his eyes were worrying.

After Peter had been asleep for about a half hour and the pizza (still on the coffee table) had gone cold, Tony stepped off of the elevator into the penthouse. It took little time to find Peter and Steve in the dimly lit living room, still on the couch. Over the years Tony had been married to Steve, he and Peter had become close, so finding them snuggled together was not a surprise. What was a surprise was that they were both fully asleep at six thirty – they hadn’t even bothered to turn on the TV.

“Steve,” Tony whispered, gently shaking his husband. “Steve, what’s going on?”

Steve lazily blinked his eyes open to look up at his husband. “Your kid has some news.” He murmured softly, not wanting to disturb the still sleeping Peter.

“She… she’s not pregnant, is she?” Tony suddenly felt a little worried.

“No, nothing like that, but…” Steve paused, trying to find the words to comfort his husband without outing his son. “But it shouldn’t come from me,” was what Steve finally came up with.

“Well, has she at least had something to eat?”

“No, I though a little rest would help.”

“Ok.” Tony ever impatient. “Maria, honey, wake up.” He gently shook Peter’s arm in an attempt to wake him up.

As Peter woke up, he sat up so his body wasn’t fully leaning on Steve. “Dad, you might want to sit down.” Peter began. “I have big news.” His voice was steady and sure. Steve felt confident that their conversation had helped to put Peter at ease.

“Ok,” Tony said, sitting down, “whatever it is, you can tell me. I promise I won’t be mad. I’m here for you sweetheart.” Tony let his ramblings stall out, worry etched into his brow.

“It’s nothing bad, Dad. It’s just… I want you to know, I’m trans. And I’d prefer if you called me Peter.” Though he was much calmer this time, Peter still didn’t meet Tony’s eyes.

“Oh, that’s not a big deal.” Tony’s relief was evident on his face. “I mean, that’s not what I meant. Clearly, this is a very big deal to you. This is very important information about you. But it doesn’t change anything.” Tony sent a worried glance to Steve. “I mean, it changes things, obviously. Of course, I’ll call you Peter. What I’m trying to say, is that I’m proud to call you my son, and I still love you. I’ll always love you.” Finally satisfied with his answer, Tony took a breath and turned to look at Steve for approval. Despite Tony’s endless teasing, Steve was the one who read all of those parenting books.

The smiles Tony received from both Steve and Peter told him that he had said the right thing. The room’s tension finally drained, and Peter began to look more like the relaxed kid Tony knew.

After a few moments of silence, Peter spoke up. “I’m starving. I feel like I haven’t eaten in days.” To compliment this, he dramatically flopped across his dad’s lap.

“Well, we have big news to celebrate.” Tony said squirming under the weight of his teenager. “Let’s go to that Thai place you like and talk about your party.”

Peter bounced up from the couch, the promise of Thai food reviving him from the onset of starvation. “Yeah, let’s get Thai. By the way, what party?”

“We got Thai yesterday,” Steve complained, slowly pushing himself off of the couch.

“You’re coming out party. It was supposed to be to introduce you to the business people in SI, but it’ll have to be duel purpose.” Tony took Steve’s hand as the trio made their way to the elevator. “We’ll have to look at getting you a suit, my dad got me my first suit when I was your age.” Tony paused to smile at his son and make sure that he was still comfortable. As they stepped into the elevator, Tony added, “and we’ll need to talk about binding and stuffing. Have you read about that online yet?” 

Peter barely had the presence of mind to nod as his face flushed. Eventually, he’d ask his dad how he knew all of these things, but for now, he just felt loved and supported.


	2. Telling the Girls

The next day, Peter was sitting at the breakfast bar when Morgan got home from Aunt May’s house. A jubilant 4-year-old, Morgan raced to Peter to tell him about the adventures she’d had with May. By the time Peter’s half-asleep brain fully began listening, Morgan was already halfway through a story about trying on May’s make-up.

“And then, and then, and then, Aunt May put pink lip-stick on me. She says it’s best for little girls ‘cause it’s cute. Then she did blush. But I don’t understand that because it just makes you look red. Why do people want to look red, Maria? Do you wear blush – I bet you look nice in blush.” Morgan went on, hardly pausing for a breath, but Peter could hardly focus anymore. How had he not thought about how to tell his little sister?

“Hey, Morgan,” Steve called from the stove. “Do you want pancakes? Or did Aunt May take you to that place you like?” Steve, seeing Peter’s confusion, wanted to help but didn’t want to interfere if Peter had a plan.

“Yeah, we went to the breakfast place, and then we got muffins, and then Aunt May got coffee.” Morgan began her new story with enthusiasm as she walked over to Steve to see what kind of pancakes he was making. “But she said, I couldn’t have coffee on account of I’m not big enough, so I had hot chocolate.” By the time she finished, Morgan was standing at Steve’s side peering into the pan. “Do they have chocolate chips in them, Papa?”

“Of course, they have chocolate chips,” Steve said, putting the pancake on a plate. “This one’s for Peter, and the next one’s yours.” As soon as Steve said those words, he realized his mistake.

Ever observant, Morgan immediately asked, “who’s Peter? Did someone stay over last night?”

Peter saw his chance to tell Morgan and took it. He got off of the bar stool and knelt in front of his sister so they were eye-level. “Well, Morgan, I’m Peter. You know how some people are men and some people are women?” At Morgan’s nod, Peter continued, “well, I don’t feel like a girl. I’m your brother, and I’d prefer to be called Peter.” As Peter finished, he worried that his sister didn’t understand.

Morgan, always full of surprises, simply responded with, “I’ve always wanted a brother. My friend Jackie’s brother taught her how to fish. Can you teach me how to fish?”

“No fishing until after breakfast,” Steve said, as he placed two plates of pancakes on the breakfast bar. “And eat your breakfast before it gets cold.” 

The two kids got up from the floor, Peter helped Morgan get up on the stool next to his, and the morning proceeded like all Saturday mornings in the penthouse. 

Eventually, Tony came up from his workshop for coffee and breakfast. Sitting at the breakfast bar with his sister with his dads close by, Peter felt relieved to have told his family.

 

It was a week later, when Peter was getting ready to go to his mom’s house, that Steve finally decided to ask Peter about Pepper. When Steve tried to ask Tony to do it, Tony had, for the hundredth time, reminded Steve that “Peter’s relationship with Pepper is not my problem.” To avoid the inevitable fight, Steve waited until Tony had left for the day to talk about it.

Steve walked into Peter’s room and sat on the edge of his bed. While Peter was usually fairly neat, before his weekends with his mom he usually upended his whole room. He said it was to make sure he didn’t forget anything, but Steve had always thought it was the same stress induced chaos that Tony exhibited.

“We’ll have to leave pretty soon, Pete. I’m dropping you off at your mom’s then heading back here for that team meeting.”

“Yeah, that’s fine, Steve,” Peter said, while pulling clothes off of their hangers and dumping most of them directly onto the floor. “I’m just looking for one more thing.”  
Steve, looking at the fully packed suitcase, realized that this was far worse than usual. “So, are you planning on telling your mom when you’re there?” Steve asked directly – they didn’t have time for beating around the bush.

“Well, you know,” Peter began, while dumping the contents of his sock drawer on the bed and looking through it. “I’m only there for a weekend, and I don’t want to rush anything, you know?” 

Seeing Peter like this always reminded Steve of the first few months of his marriage to Tony. Though Pepper wanted the divorce, she wasn’t supportive of Tony’s new marriage. Steve had never known if it was because Tony had officially come out as bisexual or because the court deemed a two-parent household as “more stable” and gave them primary custody of Peter. Either way, Peter had been flustered and nervous when going to Pepper’s every other weekend. At first, Tony had thought that that was because Peter didn’t get to see his mom enough, but increasing visits to every weekend had only made the problem worse. Back on the original schedule, Peter had relaxed over the years. It had been a long time since Peter had reacted this badly to the upcoming visit.

“I don’t want to push you either way, kiddo, but she’s your mom and she’ll love you no matter what.” Steve always aimed for diplomatic when talking to Peter about Pepper.

Stuffing two more shirts into his already over-full suitcase, Peter finally began trying to zip the thing. “Yeah, it’ll be fine – it’s just a weekend anyway.” Peter was grateful when Steve stood to help him zip the suitcase. “What are your and dad’s plans for the weekend anyway?”

“Well, your dad’s got some SI meeting in California, so he’ll be gone most of the weekend. Morgan and I will probably go to the zoo and maybe the movies.” Steve always felt a little guilty when the kids were apart for more than a couple days – he didn’t want either of them to feel left out. 

“Morgan loves the zoo,” was all Peter said while Steve picked up his suitcase. 

On the way to the car, Steve noticed that the nervous energy hadn’t faded but decided to leave it be. Tony was always telling him that the kids would let him know when they wanted help. “You can always call me, anytime, and I’ll be there. I promise.” Steve didn’t know if it was enough to comfort Peter, but he needed to say it just in case.

The first day of his visit to Pepper’s had been uneventful. Considering that she was the CEO of a company, Peter’s mom was usually so busy that she hardly noticed Peter. 

The problem hadn’t started until dinner on Saturday. Peter always knew that his mom wasn’t fond of Tony and Steve’s relationship. Though he’d never tell his dads, she had made comments about Tony’s “love affair with a man” since the two had started dating. Despite Steve’s confidence to the contrary, Peter wasn’t sure how his mom would react to the news.

“So, Maria, how’s school been going?” 

They were sitting across from each other at Pepper’s favorite Italian restaurant, and Peter thought it was the perfect time to tell his mom. “Well, um… actually, it’s been going ok. I’m… ugh, trans, and I’d prefer if you’d call me Peter.” Immediately after the words were out, Peter wondered how he managed to be more awkward this time than when he’d come out to Steve.

“What do you mean you want me to call you Peter? Your name is Maria, after Tony’s mother.” Pepper’s tone wasn’t angry or confused so much as dismissive. Peter had not anticipated this kind of response.

“Well, you know, I’m just, I’m not a girl. I’m a boy, and I picked Peter as my new name.” As the apathy on Pepper’s face shifted to thinly vailed shock and anger, Peter thought that he shouldn’t have told his mom after all.

“Listen, Maria, I know that it’s hard for you growing up with Tony and Steve. You’re just confused. And I should have spent more time with you when you were little. It’s not your fault – you didn’t have a normal childhood. It’s not normal to grow up with parents who are _that way_.”

“I’m not trans because my dads are gay,” was all Peter could muster in response. How had this conversation devolved so quickly?

“No, you don’t have ‘dad’s’, Maria, you only have one dad. Steve isn’t your dad, he’s your dad’s whore.” 

With that line, Peter knew the conversation was over. He’d heard it many times before and it never hurt any less. As tears gathered in his eye, Peter was glad to see their food coming.

“Excellent,” Pepper said loudly, clearly trying to let the conversation go. “I’m starving.”

For the duration of the meal, Peter poked at his pasta and only issued monosyllabic answers to Pepper’s questions. 

The silent cab ride home gave Peter time to consider his next move. He could hardly stand to stay with Pepper when just across town his sister and dad were willing to accept him as he was.

Once back in Pepper’s apartment, Peter decided to make his move. “Mom, will you call me Peter, even if you don’t understand why I want you to?” It was a last-ditch effort, but Peter would do what he had to in order to avoid being called Maria.

“No,” came Pepper’s simple response. “I don’t know what Tony will tell you, if you tell him, but I refuse to encourage this kind of behavior.” Pepper’s posture belied her confidence that Tony would say the same. 

Peter was very pleased that he’d told his dads first. “Ok, I’ll call Steve to pick me up, then. Let me just pack my things.” Peter walked out of the room, glad for Pepper’s momentary shock that allowed him time to leave. In his bedroom, Peter called Steve, barely managing to get out, “would you mind picking me up?”

Steve’s rely came quickly, “Morgan and I are on our way. Are you at your mom’s place?”

“Yeah, I’ll be waiting in the lobby.” Peter grabbed his suitcase, which he’d barely opened since being at his mom’s house. 

When Peter dragged his suitcase out to the living room, Pepper shot up from her seat on the couch. “Oh, so you’ve decided to leave? Do you think you’ll like Tony’s reaction better?” Pepper still held herself with the steadiness of a person with full confidence. When Peter didn’t respond and continued to take his bag to the door, Pepper became even more angry. “What will your sister think?” She shouted cruelly.

As Peter stepped out of the doorway and into the building’s main hallway, he felt the sting of his mom’s words. He wanted to shout back, but every time he tried, he was unable to speak. Making his way to the end of the hallway, Peter could only think of getting into the elevator. He knew that once he was in the lobby, it would only take minutes for Steve to get him.

Stepping off of the elevator, Peter saw Steve and Morgan rushing through the lobby doors. 

Morgan sprinted to her brother, wrapping her small arms around his legs. Clearly not realizing the gravity of the situation, Morgan squealed, “Papa says we’re having a movie night, Petey! Isn’t that fun?”

To the contrary, Steve seemed weighed down by the situation. He took Peters bag in one hand, and ran the other through Peters hair a few times. “Let’s go. Your dad will be home in a few hours. Until then, I promised someone Frozen.”

 

The car ride home was comfortable and quiet, jazz playing softly on the radio. Peter was safe with Morgan and his dads.


End file.
